1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus such as an office computer, a personal computer or the like, which processes data based on various office work files.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data processing apparatuses such as office computers and the like store and manage multifarious files such as an operating file, an accounting file, a transfer file and a personnel file. The record structures of the individual data files differ file by file. Data files are grouped into separate files, record format by record format (records having matched constituting items), and are stored and managed in such form.
The renewal of the records of an operating file, i.e., the collection of records, the addition of records or the like, is carried out by entering a sales slip, a purchase slip and the like. This renewal processing can be performed on a predetermined file in accordance with entry programs for individual slips, designed previously by experts such as system engineers.
According to conventional techniques, it is necessary to design a separate processing program for the entry processing of each slip and each file processing in accordance with the business operations of an end user. However, the actual operations change with the passage of time, so that the processing programs may not match with the actual processes and often cannot execute file processing that matches with a current mode of business operations.
In such a case, conventionally, the associated processing program should be modified partially. This modification demands very professional skills and the knowledge of programming or the like, so that it takes system engineers to do the modification. The same is true of the case where a new processing program is to be designed.
While ordinary persons in charge or end users know typical slip names and slip items used in their own working systems or the like, they cannot accurately grasp what data files are currently stored and managed, how the records of each data file are structured, and what items are included in the records of which file.
To manage sales data, personnel, etc., persons in charge understand from everyday operations that for each job management, the management of sales data requires information (items) such as product names, product numbers, amounts, quantities and unit prices, and that personnel management requires items such as the names of employees, employee numbers, ages and families. In other words, those persons in charge sufficiently grasp what should be managed as a file and what items are necessary as management items for each management target, and systematic and methodical job management is generally executed based on such knowledge.